We have taken a look at Imogen Smith’s team bike in the past, both in 2014 before the Crocodile Trophy, and then almost a year later before the Swiss Epic. While the Bianchi Methanol 29 FS frame and Stan’s NoTubes Valor wheels remained the same those times – in 2016 the whole Subaru-MarathonMTB.com Team are […]
Chasing XCM World Championship qualification
It’s nearly April, but for XCM racing, the year is just beginning. Overseas, a lot of the top pros (plus a couple of thousand amateurs) have started their season with the ABSA Cape Epic, the world’s biggest, toughest, most helicoptered mountain bike stage race. Here at home, our XCO national season is over, and those […]
Why don’t more women race (plus some advice) – part 2
Since I posted part 1, where I looked at how marketing messages might affect women’s choices about racing, there have been a lot of responses and discussion covering exactly what I was planning to write in part 2. Still, a promise is a promise! First I want to explore some of the issues and then, because […]
Why don’t more women race?
Are there mixed messages in mountain biking? After a couple of years doing media work in mountain bike racing, it’s a question I get asked every now and then by event promoters desperate to grow women’s participation in their competitions. After all, so many women of all ages are taking up the sport – why […]
Racing 2014 Part 1 – My year in numbers
I was too tired to be gleeful when my racing year ended two weeks ago, but now that a bit of time’s passed, I’ve been enjoying looking back on it all, so much that I thought I’d write about it. I’m calling it my racing year, rather than my season, because in Australia, and especially […]
Goal-Setting for Marathon MTB Racing
Many of us compete in the same marathons again and again, trying to improve our performance each year (or maybe just beat our mates). That’s where some systematic goal setting comes in handy, if you’re looking for motivation to succeed. Most of us don’t bother setting goals properly because, as marathon racers, we’re already intrinsically-motivated, […]
Remembering Australia at the Mackay Mountain Marathon
The first thing anyone said to me in Mackay was ‘which bag is your’s, ma’am?’, It came from the guy in thongs, boardies, and a hat who’d been sitting in the aisle opposite me on the plane, and pretty much set the tone for my weekend at the Mackay Mountain Marathon. While I waited for […]
Transalp: Push yourself and you push your team
The first day of Transalp, Mike pushed me. The second day, we pushed each other. Today, I pushed myself. Day three had some of the most intense climbing of the race. It was only a short stage, 58km, but brutal, starting with a 25km climb from 500m to 2400m, and chased by technical descending and […]
10 things you need to know about Euro racing
If you’re an antipodean coming to Europe to race for the first time like Imogen Smith, you’re probably prepared for big hills, dramatic landscapes, and hard racing. But here’s a few things Imo picked up that you can’t prepare for… 1. Eurobombing The way Euros descend on gravel is so distinctive there’s actually a special […]